Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix FanFic
by Dante Sanguinius
Summary: Since I c ouldn't wait for book 5 to come out, I decided to write my own :) Chapter 4 is now posted. Chapter 5 should be up soon!!
1. The Egg

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all associated names and trademarks are all the work of J.K. Rowling. This book is not the 5th book of the series, but an original work of my imagination that stems from my love of the series. Enjoy (  
  
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix  
  
Chapter One : The Egg  
  
All was quiet on Privet Drive. Nothing out of the ordinary was going on. The lights in all the houses were out, all the families in bed, dreaming their ordinary dreams - all except for a faint glow coming from one of the bedrooms of number 4. A young boy by the name of Harry Potter was finishing up his last assignment for school by the light of a single candle.  
  
"There, "he said, as he rolled up the sheet of parchment. "Three feet long, exactly as Professor Binns had asked for." Harry had to write yet another long, boring essay on the Goblin Riots for his History of Magic class at Hogwarts. He wanted to finish it on this night, the eve of his fifteenth birthday, so he could enjoy the rest of his summer at the Burrow (the home of his wizarding friends, the Weasleys). Harry looked at his watch. It was 11:59pm. In just under one minute, he, Harry Potter would be turning fifteen.  
  
Harry has not made a big deal of his birthday for years. The Dursleys, his adopted family who has been taking care of him since the night You-Know-Who killed his mom and dad, usually forget about his birthday. He looked out the window for any sign of Hedwig, or any other owl for that matter, who looked as if they would be bringing him a gift from his friends in the Wizarding World. He sighed, there was no sign of anything flying in the star-filled sky near Privet Drive. Harry went to bed, with hopes that he would hear from his friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, soon.  
  
Harry slipped off into dreams of Quidditch, chasing after the Golden Snitch. This would be unusual for most people, but not for Harry. He had a longing to play Quidditch again. The rush of soaring through the air, hunting down the Snitch, darting between other the other players and the bludgers on his quest for glory had been taken away from him the year prior because the Triwizard Tournament had taken place at Hogwarts. By the trickery of Lord Voldemort's dark magic, Harry had been entered into it so that Voldemort could use Harry to return to a human body.  
  
The dreams of Harry holding the InterHouse Cup again slowly melted away. Quite soon he was in a clearing in a forest somewhere. A cauldron was bubbling slowly under the light of the moon. Two men clad in black hooded robes were chanting softly over it. A third hooded figure brought someone else in to the clearing. One of the figures looked up. He raised his wand, pointed it at the person brought before the cauldron and started to shout.  
  
Harry awoke, thrashing and screaming on his bed, a white-hot pain pulsing throughout the lightning shaped scar on his forehead. Harry knew it was Voldemort and two of his Death Eaters that were there in the clearing. And he knew that whoever that was that the third Death Eater brought in to the clearing was dead, for his scar hurt whenever Voldemort was nearby or felt particularly murderous. Harry sat up and tried to remember all the details of the dream, but they were slipping through his fingers like water through a sieve. All he knew was that Voldemort's strength was increasing rapidly.  
  
Harry went over to his desk. He pulled out a fresh piece of parchment and a quill and started to write a letter to Ron.  
  
Dear Ron, I can't wait till I can come spend the rest of the summer with you and your family. I've decided that I'm going to fly over to your place on Thursday night after the Muggles go to bed. Have you heard anything from Hermione yet? I haven't received a single letter from her since she went to Bulgaria to see Krum. I hope she's alright.  
  
Harry  
  
P.S. Have you noticed anything strange going on that sounds like Voldemort's doing? I had a nightmare and was hoping it was just that.  
  
Harry didn't mention what the dream was about or that his scar hurt the most it ever has since he met Voldemort face to face after touching the Trophy that Barty Crouch had turned into a portkey. He didn't want to scare Ron and his parents and have them think that he couldn't handle a little dream. He re-read the letter and decided to send it to Ron as soon as Hedwig returned from hunting.  
  
Harry awoke the next morning to a light rapping at his bedroom window. He turned and saw Hedwig there with a parcel in his talons. Next to him was another smaller owl, who he recognized as Ron's owl Pig, flapping his wings frantically trying to keep afloat with the parcel weighing him down. Harry went to open the window to let them in. The owls dropped the parcels on Harry's bed and went into Hedwig's cage to rest and drink some water before they took off again. Harry went over to his bed and excitedly looked at the parcels. He took the envelope off the smaller package that Pig had brought him from Ron and read the letter.  
  
Dear Harry,  
  
Happy Birthday!! I hope you like your gift that I got you. Fred and George wanted to send you some of the tricks that they developed with the money for their joke shop, but I was at Diagon Alley and couldn't resist getting this for you as soon as I saw it.  
  
Anyways, Mum has been worrying herself sick about you and she can't wait until you come visit us so that you have a proper family protecting you instead of those Muggles. She trusts Dumbledore greatly when he says your safe there, but she still feels a proper wizarding family will be able to protect you better than the Muggles can if Voldemort should happen by.  
  
Send a message back with Pig with when you're coming because I can't wait to play Quidditch against you. I've been practicing.  
  
Sincerely, Ron Weasley  
  
Harry chuckled as he read Ron's letter. He could just picture Mrs. Weasley running frantically around the Burrow worrying that he had gotten into some kind of trouble. Harry had to admit, trouble did find him quite often, but having faced Voldemort and surviving on several occasions, he felt that he could handle almost any kind of trouble that came his way.  
  
Harry remembered that he had to send the letter he wrote last night to Ron. He began to wonder weather or not he should mention his dream at all. It seemed that Mrs. Weasley was already worried about him enough, he didn't want to add something else for her to worry about. Harry re-wrote the letter to Ron, leaving out the part about the dream, sent Pig on his way and went to go open his gift. He tore off the wrapping and inside the parcel was a brand new broom polishing kit as well as Quidditch robes for Ron's favourite Quidditch team, the Chudley Cannons. Harry loved the robes and was grateful for the new broom polishing kit as his old kit was starting to wear thin. He got to opening the next gift, a rather large, oval shaped package from Hermione.  
  
Dear Harry,  
  
How has your summer been so far? Sorry I haven't had the time to write but, as you know I was in Bulgaria with Viktor at the beginning of the summer. I'll tell you all about it when we get to Hogwarts. Ron tells me you'll be going to spend the rest of the summer with him again this year. Maybe I might come down and we can all go shopping for our school supplies together before school starts. I can't believe we're taking our O.W.L.'s this year. I'm sooo far behind in my studying already and classes haven't even started yet. While I was in Bulgaria I found a little something that I thought you'd like. Hope you enjoy your gift and can't wait to see you again.  
  
Love always, Hermione  
  
Harry opened his gift wondering what this package from Hermione was. He knew that Hermione always got him a cool gift and he excitedly tore off the wrapping from the parcel. Inside the parcel was a fairly large, bright red egg. Harry wondered what it would be. He noticed that another piece of parchment slipped out from the wrapping. It was another note from Hermione.  
  
Dear Harry,  
  
In case you hadn't noticed this is an egg. I found it at Algorovitch's Animal Emporium in Bulgaria when I was shopping with Viktor. The saleswitch didn't know exactly what animal this came from. She had never seen anything like it before. I looked in all my books to see what animal was inside of the egg and I couldn't figure it out either. I decided at any rate that it would be fun to see what happens, even if it doesn't hatch at all! Who knows, maybe we can learn something for our O.W.L.'s from this.  
  
Excitedly, Hermione  
  
P.S. I have another gift to get you when we finally see each other again. I didn't want this to be found out by anyone. See you soon!  
  
Harry wondered what animal could be inside this egg. He knew it was magical by the way the egg was glowing. He couldn't wait for it to hatch. Suddenly, Harry felt uneasy. He wasn't so sure about this mystery egg arriving so soon after he had the dream. Harry wondered whether or not Voldemort had anything to do with the mystery egg arriving. The last thing he needed was the Dark Lord hatching from an egg in Hogwarts. Harry giggled nervously. It was obvious that the dream had gotten to him more than he thought it did. Here he was, Harry Potter, the only survivor of the Avada Kadavra curse - twice - thinking that Voldemort was hiding inside of an egg, waiting to hatch and kill him. Shaking his head, he went down to breakfast with the Dursleys, wondering what animal could be inside the egg and what other gift Hermione had for him that was so secret she didn't want to send it by post. 


	2. At The Burrow

Chapter 2: At the Burrow  
  
Breakfast with the Dursleys was uneventful, as everything usually is with the Dursleys. Uncle Vernon bragged about some new contract he had gotten at work, while Aunt Petunia fussed over his cousin Dudley. It seemed that Dudley had lost some weight since being on the diet, but not enough, so once again everyone had to suffer a meagre breakfast so Dudley could lose more weight. Harry quickly devoured his grapefruit quarter and went back upstairs to his bedroom, where he had some sweets hidden under the floorboard that Ron, Fred and George had sent him. Harry was thankful that he would be going to visit the Weasleys in a few days because his food was running out.  
  
Harry was munching happily on some chocolate frogs and Bernie Blott's Every Flavour Beans when he noticed another small parcel on his bed. Harry glanced at it wondering what it could be or who it was from. He knew the Dursleys had nothing to do with it by the owl that was sitting on top of it expectantly. Harry gave it some food to eat and the owl flew off. He excitedly peeled off the letter that was attached to the parcel and began to read it.  
  
Dear Harry,  
  
Hope you enjoy the gift. It belonged to your mother.  
  
The letter was not signed by anyone and he didn't recognize the handwriting on the parchment. He had however received many gifts like this before, most recently when Sirius Black, his godfather and accused murderer, sent him his new broomstick a few years back. Harry opened the package carefully and pulled out a beautiful silver watch. It had a basilisk fighting a gryffin engraved on the watchface. Astonished with the beauty and intricacy of the design, Harry quickly put the watch on his wrist and began to pack his things so that he'd be ready to fly over to the Weasleys' under the cover of night. He hoped it didn't rain.  
  
Later on that evening, Harry put all his things inside his cauldron, hung them off the back of his broomstick and soared through the night sky on his way to Ron's. He darted over cities and hilltops, above forests and creeks and past many birds and clouds until finally he could see the impossibly slanted house that would fall if it was held up by anything other than magic. Harry slowly began his descent on his broomstick and landed in the Weasleys' backyard. Instantly a gnome began to attack him. Harry picked him up, spun him around and launched him way over the Weasleys' fence and off into the distance. Harry brushed himself off and walked over to the door. Mrs. Weasley was waiting at the doorstep for him with tears in her eyes.  
  
"Harry!! I am so glad to see that you're safe. When Ron told me you were flying on your broomstick over here I was so worried that I accidentally gave a potato arms and legs instead of peeling it and it tapdanced away." Mrs. Weasley enveloped him in a gigantic hug and ushered him inside.  
  
"You must be starving. Flying all that way on your broomstick what with the diet that the Muggles have had you on and all. Let me make you something quick to eat. In the meantime, you can go put your things in Ron's room. He'll be excited to see you." Mrs. Weasley began pointing her wand at various things in the kitchen and spices and food was flying this way and that, sauces pouring out of her wand, so Harry went upstairs to go see Ron, letting her make him some food. He was hungry. It was a long flight after all.  
  
Harry carried his cauldron and his broomstick up the three flights of stairs to Ron's bedroom. Ron was sitting on his bed reading Quidditch Through the Ages again. Ron was just as obsessed with Quidditch as he was. Ron looked up and saw Harry standing in the doorway holding his things.  
  
"Harry! You're finally here!! Mum was worried that you would get spotted while flying over. Or worse." Ron looked kind of pale when he said the last part, but colour returned to his cheeks after a few seconds. "Here, lemme help you with your things." Ron and Harry finished unpacking Harry's things, when Mrs. Weasley calls Harry down to eat.  
  
Ron and Harry were catching up on how their summers were while walking down the narrow staircase of the Burrow to eat food. They stepped into the kitchen and their jaws dropped. Mrs. Weasley had made a feast that rivalled any Hogwarts feast they had eaten at. There was mashed potatoes, roast beef, chicken, salads, puddings, sweet bread and a whole bunch of other things Harry couldn't identify but smelled good nonetheless. The kitchen table was sagging underneath the weight of all the food. Mrs. Weasley blushed.  
  
"I got a little carried away. Once I started to cook I just couldn't stop. At any rate, Arthur should hopefully be home soon," she said as she looked up at their clock. Arthur Weasley's clock hand was still pointed at work but it was getting shorter by the second. "God only knows he'll be hungry when he gets home. He's been at the office all day. Ever since You- Know-Who came back Arthur's been working almost 20 hours a day, it's ridiculous. He's working himself to death. At least he has people in the office on his side who are working with him against You-Know-Who." The clock on the wall chimed. "Looks like Arthur's home. He'll be glad to see you Harry. Arthur's been worried about you." Mrs. Weasley went to go great Arthur at the door.  
  
"Ron, is there something your mother's not telling me? Does she know something about Voldemort -" Ron flinched "- sorry, that I don't know?"  
  
Ron looked at Harry and shrugged. "I haven't heard them say anything, but I have noticed that Dad was getting really tight-lipped when talking about work lately. Maybe they do know something." Ron trailed off and started to get pale and worried.  
  
Harry noticed that Ron was starting to get worried. "Don't worry Ron. I doubt it's anything major. They're probably getting really tight on security since Voldemort's returned. Or maybe he just doesn't want to worry you. Or maybe he thinks we'll go investigate if we hear anything. It's probably nothing."  
  
"Maybe your right Harry," Ron said as the colour returned to his cheeks. "It's probably nothing. Now let's eat! I'm starving!" Harry, Ron and the rest of the Weasleys dove into the magnificent dinner that Mrs. Weasley had made for them. Ron wanted to play Quidditch after supper, but after falling asleep in his mashed potatoes, Mrs. Weasley ordered the kids up to bed.  
  
Harry was tossing and turning upstairs and couldn't sleep so he went downstairs to go get a glass of water. As he passed by Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's room, Harry heard heated whispering. He was going to walk on past until he heard his name.  
  
"Arthur no, I don't want to put Harry in any danger. You know how he is. If he knew that You-Know-Who was planning and attack on Azkaban, he'd try to figure out when and try to stop it. You mustn't let him know that you know where You-Know-Who is."  
  
"But honey, our spies who've been keeping tabs on You-Know-Who told us that Azkaban was a diversion. While the prisoners were being released from Azkaban - most of them Death Eaters - other Death Eaters and quite possibly You-Know-Who himself would be trying to abduct Harry from Hogwarts! He's got a right to know the amount of danger he's in!"  
  
"Arthur I refuse to let you tell him. I trust Dumbledore completely. Almost all of the old crowd will be teaching at Hogwarts this year - Mundungus, Remus, even Arabella Figg will be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts there this year. She's been looking after Harry for years whenever those Muggles went on vacation. I think with the Order there, and Dumbledore there, and the extra protection Dumbledore has around the castle, no Death Eater will be able to get in and get Harry. The only way they'll get him is if you tell him that he's in danger. My decision is final!"  
  
Harry was shocked. Suddenly he didn't need a glass of water anymore. He ran back up to Ron's room to tell him everything he'd overheard in Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's bedroom. 


	3. Trouble at the Ministry

Chapter 3: Trouble at the Ministry  
  
Harry returned to Ron's bedroom pale as a Hogwarts ghost. He sat down on Ron's bed shaking, the conversation he heard chilling him to the bones. He started to tell Ron about everything he heard his parents discussing in the bedroom. Ron started to get paler and paler as Harry continued. Once he started talking he couldn't stop. He started to tell Ron about the mysterious gift he received and the dream he had before coming and the bad feelings he had about the egg Hermione found that no one had ever seen before. By the end, Ron was shaking in fear.  
  
"Ha-ha-harry? Why didn't you tell me earlier about the dream and getting the mystery watch? Have you written to Hermione, Dumbledore or Sirius about this? They might know more about it." Harry was amazed with himself for not thinking about writing to Sirius, his godfather. Even though he knew that Sirius was doing something important for Dumbledore this summer, Hedwig never had any problems finding him.  
  
"You're right Ron. I should write to Sirius about this. Hermione and Dumbledore will find out soon enough." Ron gave Harry a piece of parchment and he began to write the letter to Sirius, using the code name they had developed for him.  
  
Dear Snuffles,  
  
How are you? It's been a while since I've written to you. I hope whatever Dumbledore has asked you to do went well. My summer vacation has been going pretty good so far. I'm currently over at Ron's house to spend the rest of the summer vacation. An interesting gift came to me on my birthday. It was a watch with a basilisk fighting a gryffin on it. The note said that it belonged to my mother, but it was unsigned. I was wondering if you knew anything about it.  
  
Keep safe and I hope to see you again soon, Harry  
  
"There! As soon as Hedwig gets back from hunting I'll send off the letter to Sirius. Now don't worry about it. I'm sure either Sirius or Dumbledore sent it. Neither of them have signed any gifts that they have given me. You'll see." Harry wasn't so confident that Sirius or Dumbledore had anything to do with the watch whatsoever, especially after hearing the conversation between Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, but Ron seemed to regain some of the colour to his face so Harry pushed it out of his mind and tried to get some sleep. They still had the rest of the summer ahead of them and he didn't want to be worrying about a watch he received as a gift.  
  
Early the next morning, Harry went downstairs after waking up. He didn't sleep well the night before with thoughts of being abducted by Voldemort again floating through his mind. Inside the Weasley's fireplace, Harry noticed a disembodied head floating amongst the flames. He recognized the head as being one of the members of the Ministry of Magic that he met last summer at the Quidditch World Cup, and father to Cedric Diggory.  
  
"Listen Arthur, it is quite crucial that you talk to Albus about this. If he goes around doing whatever it is that pleases him, Fudge will have him removed as headmaster of Hogwarts. Then who will be left to protect Harry."  
  
"I know Amos. Albus is very stubborn on this point. We all know that You-Know-Who has returned and Fudge is starting to see that he can't cover it up anymore. If anything, Fudge will have to step down as Minister for Magic if he doesn't start revealing the truth about what's going on. The Aurors have not worked this much since the last time You-Know-Who was in power. They're getting around three calls a night - "  
  
"You don't even know the half of it Arthur. The Ministry is in a state of panic this morning. The Dark Mark was found over the house of You- Know-Who's latest victim. Fudge is preparing to speak to the Daily Prophet reporters right now. It does not look good for him."  
  
"There's been another killing?" Mr. Weasley looked shocked and the great strain the entire ordeal was putting on him was quite clear. "Why was I not informed of this sooner? Who was it this time Amos?"  
  
Amos Diggory paused for a moment, as if contemplating whether or not Arthur Weasley would be able to handle the information. "It was the Smyths over on the other side of London. All 5 of them were just lying dead on the living room floor in front of the fireplace. The Aurors believe that they were distracted by a visitor in the fire when a few Death Eaters came in. There is no sign of a struggle so whoever it was snuck in and hit them quickly with the Killing Curse. This is only the beginning Arthur. This is only the beginning." With that, Amos Diggory's head disappeared from the flames, and Arthur Weasley turned around to head back into the kitchen.  
  
"Harry! My gosh, how much of that did you hear?" Mr. Weasley seemed even more strained now that he knew that Harry had overheard some of what he and Amos were talking about. He wondered how much Harry knew about what was going on this year.  
  
"Not much Mr. Weasley. I just came in at the end." Harry began to flush with embarrassment. "I did however overhear you and Mrs. Weasley speaking last night." Arthur looked up in shock. "I was heading downstairs to grab a glass of water because I couldn't sleep and I heard you mentioning my name. I tried to ignore it and walk away but I also heard you mentioning something about You-Know-Who and I just couldn't move."  
  
"Harry, Harry, Harry, I didn't want you to have to hear anything like that. I had wanted to tell you upfront so that you wouldn't be going around blundering into things you shouldn't be because you didn't know. I'm sure however, if you heard everything, you should know that Dumbledore has a lot of extra protection floating around Hogwarts this year to make sure that nothing happens to you. As long as you promise not to leave Hogwarts grounds you'll be safe."  
  
Harry started to get a little bit nervous and looked as if he was hiding something from Mr. Weasley. "Is there something else you're not telling me Harry. If you know something, or if you had a dream again, let me know what it was about. I might be able to help you."  
  
Harry debated whether or not Mr. Weasley would be able to help him identify either the animal that produced the egg or the watch. Soon Harry found himself revealing the entire story about how no one had ever seen anything like that egg and how he received a mysterious watch that was supposed to belong to his mother.  
  
Mr. Weasley was startled when Harry mentioned the watch. "Do you have the watch with you now Harry?" Harry nodded. "May I see it?" Harry took it off his wrist and handed it to Mr. Weasley. The colour drained from Mr. Weasley's face. "Do you mind if I take this in to the Office and see if anyone knows what this is about?" Harry could tell that Mr. Weasley was hiding something from him, but he agreed to let him take it in to the Office and ask around. He left for work promptly, leaving Harry sitting at the kitchen table to think about the events that just transpired. He couldn't wait to get back to Hogwarts so that he could stop thinking about Voldemort trying to kill him. A strenuous Quidditch practice would leave him too tired to worry. He went back upstairs to Ron's bedroom to go to sleep for a few hours. His sleepless night began to catch up to him.  
  
A few hours later, Harry and Ron awoke to shouting in the kitchen. It seemed as if Percy and Mrs. Weasley were fighting about something again.  
  
"I'm beginning to worry about Percy lately. He's gotten really secretive lately. And we all know that he has a lust for power. I just hope he's not doing anything that can get him in trouble," Ron confessed to Harry. "He just hasn't seemed like himself lately."  
  
"Percy? Get in to trouble? I don't think he knows how. You don't have to worry about Percy. He does everything by the book, and I doubt being evil is a regulation in the Ministry of Magic," Harry said with a grin to cheer Ron up. "I'm sure he's just under a lot of pressure at work with You-Know-Who being back. I bet those cauldron bottoms aren't as important as he thought they were," Harry snickered.  
  
"But Mum! The Ministry is in upheaval, what with Fudge resigning and all. After the Daily Prophet found out that he had been covering up the return of You-Know-Who for so long, witches and wizards everywhere began to push for Fudge's resignation. With no one to lead them we are exactly where You-Know-Who wants us to be. Without a leader when we need one the most. I think Dad should run for Minister. He's what the Ministry needs right now." "No Percy! I will not allow you to try to convince your father to run for Minister. He's already working around the clock. Becoming Minister for Magic would be the death of him. Yes, he would be quite capable of handling the job, and he is what the Ministry needs right now, but being Minister is not what your father needs right now. He's old. He's getting frazzled. Let someone else, someone who's younger take up the position. Do not go putting fancy ideas in to your father's head. Am I clear?" Percy stormed up to his bedroom.  
  
"Fudge resigned his position?" Ron looked at Harry in surprise. "Who's going to be the new Minister now that Fudge is gone?" Harry and Ron discussed who could be replacing Fudge as minister over breakfast and then went outside to play Quidditch. 


	4. Animagi and Other Secrets

Chapter 4: Animagi and Other Secrets  
  
The rest of the summer passed by uneventfully. Ron and Harry played a lot of Quidditch with Fred and George to make the time pass faster. Ron had gotten quite good at Quidditch since the last time Harry had seen him play. Finally, it had gotten to that point at the end of the summer where a voyage to Diagon Alley was needed to purchase their books and more supplies for the next school year. Harry was excited. He would finally be seeing Hermione again and would hopefully get to see this other gift that she had for him.  
  
After Harry and the Weasleys had made the journey by Floo into Diagon Alley, Ron and Harry went off to go find Hermione. They wandered past all the stores with all the magical supplies and decided to go to the Leaky Cauldron for an ice cream cone. It was at the Leaky Cauldron that they ran into Hermione.  
  
"Harry! Ron!" Hermione shouted excitedly as she ran up to them and enveloped them in gigantic hugs. "How've you been all summer. I wish I could have stopped by for a visit but I just got back from Bulgaria." Hermione looked kind of sour at the mention of Bulgaria. "You will never guess who's starting at Hogwarts this year?" Harry and Ron were puzzled until they saw the tall, lanky figure of Viktor Krum coming towards them from the Leaky Cauldron.  
  
"Krum?" asked Ron and Harry in unison.  
  
"With Karkaroff gone, Krum decided that he didn't want to be around Durmstrang this year. He got into this huge fight with his parents over his decision to go to Hogwarts and just left once he got approval from Dumbledore to finish his studies here." Harry seemed more excited than Ron was that Krum would be going to Hogwarts this year. Harry believed that Ron liked Hermione and didn't like the fact that he would have competition from Krum. Hermione whispered to Harry and Ron. "Viktor needs to go to Madame Malkin's to see about his new robes. While he's being fitted, I have something very important to talk to you about." With that, the Ron and Harry trailed behind Hermione and Viktor towards Madame Malkin's Robe Shop.  
  
Viktor and Hermione entered Madame Malkin's. After a few brief moments, Hermione returned outside. "Viktor's going to meet us back at the Leaky Cauldron in about an hour. That should give us enough time to go over what I need to tell you guys." Harry hoped this had something to do with his other birthday gift from Hermione. The group happily skipped along to the Leaky Cauldron, chatting about the enormous excitement about their summer. Hermione filled them in on the rumours she'd heard about the new Minister for Magic.  
  
"The Ministry is trying to change the regulations about the selection of a new Minister. They want Dumbledore to be Minister, but they also want him as Headmaster at Hogwarts. The Minister can't currently be Headmaster at Hogwarts, but because of the work of people like your dad, Ron, we could see Dumbledore as the new Minister. Imagine what that would mean for Wizarding kind." The trio entered the Leaky Cauldron and sat at a secluded table in the back corner. Hermione reached down into her bag and pulled out a large, leatherbound book and set it on the table in front of Harry. "Happy Birthday Harry."  
  
Harry examined the book. There was no title anywhere on the cover of the book. "Thanks Hermione, I think. What is this book exactly?" Harry feared that it would be an extremely old copy of Hogwarts, A History so that Harry and Ron could finally keep up with Hermione's knowledge of Hogwarts.  
  
"I found this book in a dusty old trunk in the Krum's attic. It grabbed my attention right away and I opened it. I was amazed at what I read inside and decided that this would be the perfect gift for you and give us something to do this year since the Hogsmeade trips have been cancelled, what with You-Know-Who's return and all." Harry and Ron did a double take at the mention of Hogsmeade being cancelled. "It was mentioned in your letter from Hogwarts, if you read it properly."  
  
"Well, get on with it Hermione," Ron said exasperatedly. "What is it? We don't have all day." Hermione moved in closer to Ron and Harry and in a voice barely above a whisper said "this book gives step by step instructions on how to become Animagi. It has all the potions and spells, instructions on how to physically undergo all the changes. Some of the potions are really difficult and require some pretty rare ingredients. Not to mention all the hard work we'll need to put into it to physically undergo the changes quickly and on command." Harry and Ron could barely contain their excitement. "We have two ways of going about this. We could do it completely on our own, or we can get help from Professor McGonagall. Being an Animagus herself she could give us instructions and pointers that she learned from experience."  
  
Harry and Ron thought about this for a brief moment and at exactly the same time said "On our own." Harry continued, "McGonagall would probably try to talk us out of becoming Animagi. And plus, it'll be more fun to sneak around doing stuff like we always do." Hermione agreed with them. They did have a knack for skirting around the rules and doing things they shouldn't. Becoming Animagi was not illegal. It did need to be licensed, but they could get that done after.  
  
"Hermione, you said that some of the potions were really difficult and required some pretty rare ingredients. Where are we going to get them? Snape'll know that something's up if all those ingredients go missing," Ron wondered. Hermione smiled proudly.  
  
"A lot of the ingredients are rare, but I was able to pick them all up in Bulgaria. I was going to buy the more common stuff that I didn't already have today when I went to restock my potion supplies. I bought enough for the three of us because I thought it would be fun for us all to do and I read in that book that it helps with becoming an Animagus if you have support from other people. All that's left now is for us to decide which animal we want to become. Most people say that the animal chooses us the way the wand does, so when you're reading about the animals one animal will jump out at you and you'll know that is the one for you."  
  
The rest of their hour without Viktor was spent discussing how cool it would be to become this animal or that one. Finally, Viktor showed up and they continued on with their shopping for school supplies. Harry was thinking quite seriously about what animal he wanted to be. He wondered if he should follow in his father's footsteps and become a stag. Slowly his mind drifted through all the animals he had ever studied in Care of Magical Creatures and he finally narrowed it down to two. Harry wanted to either become a gryffin, the mascot of Gryffindor and one of the animals on the watch, or a phoenix, like Fawkes, Dumbledore's bird. Gryffins were powerful creatures, but the phoenix had tears that could heal and could lift many times their own weight. Having tears that heal could help out greatly seeing how much trouble seems to find Harry and his friends.  
  
Finally, it came time to when Harry and Ron needed to meet up with the rest of the Weasleys to return to the Burrow. They agreed that the four of them would sit together on the train to Hogwarts and said their goodbyes until tomorrow. As Ron and Harry walked back to the Leaky Cauldron to meet the rest of the Weasley clan, Harry told Ron talked excitedly about becoming Animagi.  
  
"I think I've decided what animal I want to become," Harry said.  
  
"Already? It hasn't even been a full two hours since Hermione said that we could become Animagi!"  
  
"It's like Hermione said, the animal chooses you. Once I started to think about it, two animals popped into my head right away. The gryffin and the phoenix. The gryffin is a really powerful creature, and so is the phoenix, but the phoenix has healing tears and has many magical powers that are still yet undiscovered by humans. I think when I become an Animagus I want to transform into a phoenix." Ron was amazed at how quickly Harry's animal called him. Ron started to worry that maybe he couldn't be an Animagus because the only animal he thought of was a rat, and that was only because he missed his rat Scabbers. Even though Scabbers ended up being another Animagus, Peter Pettrigew, a Death Eater also known as Wormtail, he was still a good pet. Ron decided that before they left for Hogwarts tomorrow, he'd have decided what animal he wanted to become.  
  
Finally, Ron and Harry met up with the others and one by one travelled back to the Burrow. Mr. Weasley pulled Harry aside and once everyone started to go through the gate handed him back his watch.  
  
"The Ministry's most powerful wizards checked for all kinds of charms known to them and even other dark charms that You-Know-Who could have come up with and nothing came up. I want you to be really, really careful this year. You know what You-Know-Who has planned and it's possible that the wizards who checked this over overlooked something that could be important. Promise me you won't go looking for trouble this year." Mr. Weasley looked very strained and exhausted. His eyes were dark with circles from lack of sleep.  
  
"I promise I won't go looking for trouble and that I will be careful. What with the Ministry trying to get Dumbledore as Minister nothing can happen around Hogwarts this year." Harry realized that he said too much when Mr. Weasley blanched.  
  
"You know that we're trying to get Dumbledore as Minister of Magic? If that much is known then who knows what else is being leaked out of the office. Oh dear, things are happening all over again, exactly like they were the last time You-Know-Who rose to power. Where did you hear this from?" Mr. Weasley looked extremely worried.  
  
"Hermione told me and Ron earlier. I don't know where she heard it from because she just got back from Bulgaria. I wouldn't worry too much though Mr. Weasley, Hermione knows everything."  
  
Mr. Weasley got even paler. "Harry, when you go back, tell Mrs. Weasley that something important came up and that I needed to go to the office. Do not under any circumstances say that you know why I'm going in. I'll explain it fully to her when I return."  
  
Harry took a handful of Floo powder and travelled back to the Burrow. He found Mrs. Weasley waiting expectantly for him to arrive at the fireplace. "Where have you been, I was beginning to worry about you. Where's Arthur? He should have been through already?"  
  
"About that, Mr. Weasley told you not to worry about him, he should be home soon, he just had to run into the office to sort some stuff out. He told me to tell you he'd explain everything to you when he got back." As if to see if Harry's story checked out, Mrs. Weasley glanced at the clock and saw Arthur's hand pointing at work. Mrs. Weasley grumbled and started to make supper. Harry darted upstairs and went to tell Ron everything that had just happened since he had returned to the Burrow. 


End file.
